Penne Pasta Casserole Baked With Spaghetti Sauce And Cheese

Do you ever have one of those days that you plan on making a certain dish and you just dread the thought of it. Not wanting to make the same old recipe again I decided to get creative and see what I could come up with. I must say that it tasted pretty good. Everyone had seconds so it had the family stamp of approval and the "please make this again" responses made it a hit. Here is the recipe for the casserole I made in case you would like to try it.

• ½ tsp Thyme
• ½ tsp Basil
• ½ tsp Oregano
• 1 tsp Crushed Chili Peppers
• 2 or 3 dashes of hot sauce I used Louisiana hot sauce

• 2 pounds of lean ground beef cooked and drained
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 green pepper chopped
• 3 stalks of celery chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic pressed

(You don’t have to use this much garlic

unless you are a big garlic fan like me).

• 1 large can of diced tomatoes
• 1 large can of tomato sauce
• 1 can of mushrooms or fresh if you have them
• 900 gram bag of Penne pasta noodles cooked and drained

I had only planned on making one 9 X 12 dish of this but as it turned out I had extra pasta and sauce left over so I made another 8 X 10 dish. One dish I made with mozzarella cheese and the other with old cheddar cheese.

3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups of shredded old cheddar cheese

While the ground beef is cooking chop your onion, green pepper, celery and peel your garlic cloves. Once ground beef is cooked drain and set aside. In a large pot heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil. Add vegetables and sauté for about five minutes. Add into the pot diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and stir. Add spices, hamburger and stir. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to low cooking for 35 minutes. While the spaghetti sauce is cooking cook your noodles. Drain noodles rinse and set aside. Press the garlic cloves into the sauce and add the mushrooms. Continue cooking on low for another 15 – 20 minutes.

In a large ovenproof dish put in a layer of noodles then spread some of the spaghetti sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle ½ of the mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce. Add more noodles, sauce and the rest of the mozzarella cheese.

Repeat the same process with a smaller ovenproof dish and use the cheddar.

Bake at 300°F on the middle oven rack for 45 minutes. Remove from oven. Serve with salad and garlic bread if you like.